Confessions of a Lip Balm Addict

Okay so I may be over exaggerating, slightly. I never have eleven lip balms in my bag, more 5 or 6 in various compartments of my bag for easy reach!

Which isn't too bad...however I do have alot more than the ones shown above, in the form lots of Blistex, Carmex, Vaseline pots and tins oh and lots of rubbish novelty ones. 

I am tempted to say they all do the same thing - they make your lips softer. But as I'm sure any lip balm addict will agree, there is alot more than that to a lip balm. 

First you have clear or pigmented, then you have medicated ones for chapped lips, then you have wax, lip butters and gloss lip balms. Then of course you have unfragranced and fragranced. 

So as you can see having 30 + lip balms is actually a needed thing and of course you can't try before you buy (who would want to with the state of alot of testers) and to be honest I don't even trust sniffing testers in shops these days.

So after trying to justify why I need so many lip balms, here are the ones that I have purchased in the last 6 months or so that aren't too tatty to show you! 

Models Own Lip Balm 'Ballet Pink'  £5.00 - This is almost a clear gloss with lots of fine pink glitter in it that kind of gives a shimmer to the lips. I would say this is actually a gloss however it does keep the lips soft & hydrated throughout the day. I don't actually like the fragrance to it though, which is a shame. It's abit too synthetic and sweet and the only thing I can say the smell reminds me of, is shampoo! That aside it is a nice product, just not to sure about the £5 price tag.

Models Own Lip Balm 'Fuchsia -full' £5.00 - This of course is from the same range as above however I much prefer this product to Ballet Pink, mainly due to the improved fragrance. As for the shade itself do not let the strong pigmentation of this put you off! It can either be use in a small amount to give the lips a light pink stain or you can apply this almost as you would a lipstick however you have the added bonus of it being really hydrating. I really feel this is more worth the £5 price tag.

Jelly Pong Pong Lip Orchid 'Petal Pink' £8.00 - I am almost sure I didn't pay £8 for this, I think I paid around the £3-4 price mark at Asos I think. Now I would say the pretty orchid on top of the pot isn't very practical, however this is always somewhere in my bag and it has never fallen off, but if the flower ever did fall out you would be left with quite a cheap looking plastic pot! As for the lip balm itself, aside from the slightly shampoo like fragrance I really do love this. It does what a lip balm should do and is the most perfect candy pink colour when on the lips. My only criticism would be that it's doesn't last that long and I do find myself reapplying this alot through out the day.

Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer 'Nutmeg' £5.99 - This falls into the category of 'most used lip balm' and you have to be something special to get there! Love that this is 100% natural and actually feels and tastes like there are no synthetic cheap ingredients in it. Also really love the shade of this, perfect for winter and very wearable in the day as like the name mentions it does have a shimmer to it. The only thing I could see putting anyone off is the peppermint oil which I personally quite like it. However it does give the lips a slight tingling sensation and is scented quite strongly of peppermint.

Natural Products fragranced Lip balm 'Christmas Pudding' £4.00 - I think I bought this as a set of three from Asos last Christmas thinking they would just be cute little lip balms to keep in my bag. Oh, how wrong I was. Aside from the packaging there is nothing to like about this lip balm - it smells of plastic, it's sticky and doesn't keep your lips soft what so ever. I don't think I could even bring myself to  give this to my 4 year old niece to play with, it is that bad.


Mrs. Fields flavoured Lip balm 'Chewy Fudge' £2.00 - I eat this.. umm I mean I USE this when I'm feeling abit hungry, it is THAT good! I actually bought this on eBay due to it being an American product and hands down this is the best novelty lip balms I have ever purchased. Okay, it is totally synthetic and I am sure there is nothing natural about it. But the fragrance of this is just SO good, like warm fudge brownies! If you are a lover of chocolaty novelty lip balms, then this is a must. Also it does actually keep your lips very soft!

Clinique Super Balm Moisturizing gloss '09 Currant' Free - As most of you will know this came free in the November issue of Elle and I am not too sure if I actually like this. I think the problem is it being fragrance free (which I don't mind) but then it being called 'current' and it being a berry shade I just keep on wanting it to have some lovely blackcurrant scent to it. I just can't seem to get my head pass it and always feel abit disappointed when I apply this to my lips. It's just quite a sheer glossy balm. I don't love this but nor do I hate it either!

Palmer's Medicated lip butter £3.00 - I had such high hopes for this when I bought it - I had visions of a perfectly fragranced Palmer's balm that would sort out my dry lips in winter and to be far it does the job, perfectly. Really medicated and soothing but that is the problem! I bought it because it was the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula but this just feels like I am smearing the gooey centre of an After Eight mint all over my lips. Which is not what you want! This is something I will turn to when I have a really bad cold I'm sure.


Anatomicals 'Stop Cracking up' lip balm - I'm totally on the fence about this. Really love the smooth soothing texture and actually thought I liked the almost ice cream like flavour to it. That was until it started to wear off to leave behind this slightly sickly tasting over fragranced lip balm that you want to wipe off your lips. But it does really work! It's just a shame the fragrance is so awful.

Marks & Spencer Coconut Lip butter - As you can see from the above image I love, love, love this lip balm or should I say lip butter. It almost reminds of something The Body Shop would sell if I still shopped there. It's quite a simple balm that leaves a thin layer of the butter in your lips and really does last alot longer than most of the other products I use. As for the fragrance it's just a lovely sweet coconut scent that doesn't actually feel too plastic like or man made! I highly recommend this if you have never tried anything from the Marks & Spencer beauty range.

Burt's Bees Honey Lip balm £3.50 - I can't say I love this more than my Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer, but I do still really like this. For me this is the ultimate totally natural lip balm. It is basically made up with mainly beeswax and other essential oils, so it is quite a waxy balm that you do need to warm up on the lips to actually get any of the product on there. This means that it's not sticky or gloppy, it just gives that thin film of product that you need. This is also the only lip balm that stays on through eating and drinking!


Bepanthen Ointment (nappy rash barrier cream) - This is the only product that never finds itself into my handbag (ok, well in winter it sometimes does) but carrying round nappy cream is NEVER good, especially when you are childless. This literally makes the most perfect over night lip treatment. It isn't overly scented or actually that cream like, it just a white quite oily cream that works wonders on chapped or extra dry lips in winter! 

After talking about each individual lip balm and only covering just under half of what I actually own, I am maybe thinking I don't need anymore lip balms for quite a long time!


As always I'd love to hear what you currently use!